Published: Sunday, April 21, 2013 at 6:39 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, April 21, 2013 at 6:39 p.m.

The beady-eyed little monsters that drown out traffic noise and make you think dead leaves are covering the pavement in July are back.

A "brood" of cicadas is set to emerge in the coming weeks, and that means parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast could soon be inundated by the flying grasshoppers on steroids.

Cicadas are sap-sucking insects that emerge for several weeks in the late spring and early summer, primarily to look for mates and lay eggs for the next generation which will then live underground until it's their time to emerge. And while harmless to humans, the roughly 2-inch-long insects have a habit of getting on everything – and everywhere – and emitting a call that can be as loud as a motorcycle.

However, what might irritate most people fascinates members of the science community.

University of North Carolina Wilmington biologist Joseph Pawlick described a different brood he experienced while working as a rotator in 2004 for the National Science Foundation at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

"When I lived in D.C. they would cover the brick walls of the brownstones," Pawlick said, describing the city's historic row houses. "I would be in traffic on the beltway with my windows closed and the cicadas would actually drown out the noise of rush hour."

Pawlick, a marine invertebrate zoologist with an interest in the species, viewed "Brood X" at work. The distinct species of cicadas was a variety that pops up every 17 years in numbers far greater than an average summer in Georgetown.

Several broods rotate on this 17-year schedule, while others follow a 13-year schedule. Brood X will appear again in 2021, and this year's 17-year variety – "Brood II" – will appear in North Carolina's Piedmont area in late April, just missing the Port City.

"We won't see them here. They'll be up in the Piedmont, according to the distribution maps I've read," Pawlick said. "We'll just be getting the regular cicadas that usually come out every year. They are the same size, but there are less of them and they are less pretty to see."

Pawlick marveled at the brood Wilmington will be missing out on this summer, describing a marginal difference between the species – one with more harmful effects than the other.

"You really notice the difference. Brood II has red eyes and black bodies," Pawlick said. "They make these huge scars, the length of the tip of your finger, on the branches of trees and they turn brown and die. They are fairly devastating effects for forests."

While Wilmington will be getting the "less pretty" kind, some folks appreciate the slightly less irritating variety coming back for bathing-suit season.

"I would equate it to an alien spaceship or something – it's a very high-pitched sound," said Sam Marshall, a N.C. Cooperative Extension Service agent in Brunswick County.

<p>The beady-eyed little monsters that drown out traffic noise and make you think dead leaves are covering the pavement in July are back.</p><p>A "brood" of cicadas is set to emerge in the coming weeks, and that means parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast could soon be inundated by the flying grasshoppers on steroids.</p><p>Cicadas are sap-sucking insects that emerge for several weeks in the late spring and early summer, primarily to look for mates and lay eggs for the next generation which will then live underground until it's their time to emerge. And while harmless to humans, the roughly 2-inch-long insects have a habit of getting on everything – and everywhere – and emitting a call that can be as loud as a motorcycle.</p><p>However, what might irritate most people fascinates members of the science community.</p><p>University of North Carolina Wilmington biologist Joseph Pawlick described a different brood he experienced while working as a rotator in 2004 for the National Science Foundation at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.</p><p>"When I lived in D.C. they would cover the brick walls of the brownstones," Pawlick said, describing the city's historic row houses. "I would be in traffic on the beltway with my windows closed and the cicadas would actually drown out the noise of rush hour."</p><p>Pawlick, a marine invertebrate zoologist with an interest in the species, viewed "Brood X" at work. The distinct species of cicadas was a variety that pops up every 17 years in numbers far greater than an average summer in Georgetown.</p><p>Several broods rotate on this 17-year schedule, while others follow a 13-year schedule. Brood X will appear again in 2021, and this year's 17-year variety – "Brood II" – will appear in North Carolina's Piedmont area in late April, just missing the Port City.</p><p>"We won't see them here. They'll be up in the Piedmont, according to the distribution maps I've read," Pawlick said. "We'll just be getting the regular cicadas that usually come out every year. They are the same size, but there are less of them and they are less pretty to see."</p><p>Pawlick marveled at the brood Wilmington will be missing out on this summer, describing a marginal difference between the species – one with more harmful effects than the other.</p><p>"You really notice the difference. Brood II has red eyes and black bodies," Pawlick said. "They make these huge scars, the length of the tip of your finger, on the branches of trees and they turn brown and die. They are fairly devastating effects for forests."</p><p>While Wilmington will be getting the "less pretty" kind, some folks appreciate the slightly less irritating variety coming back for bathing-suit season.</p><p>"I would equate it to an alien spaceship or something – it's a very high-pitched sound," said Sam Marshall, a N.C. Cooperative Extension Service agent in Brunswick County.</p><p>Juliane Bullard: 343-2023</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @StarNewsOnline</p>